Juvenile sex offenses, of course, can stem from other reasons. Children can be influenced to act out when they have been exposed to pornography or live sex. They will mimic the sexual behavior they have seen. And, of course, children who have been sexually abused will act out on those behaviors--sometimes years later. In such cases, it is very common that the child was abused at a young age by an older cousin, a babysitter, a coach or other such person close to the child. This prior abuse does not excuse the child's actions, but it is definitely mitigating. Without counseling and intervention, the child is likely to re-offend. If the child later re-offends as an adult, he could be facing a life sentence.
DIGNITY, EMPATHY AND COMPASSION
Jim Sullivan can help you and your child get through this difficult ordeal with dignity, empathy and compassion. He is sensitive to the emotional and psychological needs of children. He has represented a number of juvenile boys and girls who themselves had been victimized at a young age and had not reported it to their parents or to the authorities. In fact, it was only through his sensitive, patient and thought-provoking conversation with the child that he was able to draw out the prior abuse.
Jim Sullivan will work hard to persuade the State to non-suit (dismiss) your child's case, to obtain an acquittal (not guilty) at trial or as a last result to negotiate a reasonable plea bargain. From the outset, he will work to have your child released from the detention center and then work toward keeping him or her at home and from having to register as a sex offender. In fact, not one of his juvenile clients has had to register as a sex offender. Such registration can be devastating to a child's development and to his or her future.
Jim Sullivan is an expert in the field of juvenile law and has successfully represented juveniles charged with sex offenses and other felony and misdemeanor offenses in Houston and throughout southeast Texas. He has a proven track record in juvenile sex offense representation and is truly concerned about the many juveniles who do not have competent legal representation.
POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF JUVENILE SEX OFFENSES:
DISCRETIONARY TRANSFER TO CRIMINAL COURT
An
Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child offense is a first degree felony.
If the juvenile is 14 years of age or older at the time of the alleged
offense, the State can seek to have the juvenile transferred to criminal
court and stand trial as an adult. In adult court, the range of
punishment is from five years to life in prison.
Indecency with a Child can be either a second or third degree felony. If the juvenile is 15 years of age or older at the time of the alleged offense, the State can seek to have the juvenile transferred to criminal court and stand trial as an adult. In adult court, the range of punishment is from 2 years to 10 or 20 years in prison.
DETERMINATE SENTENCE
Instead
of a transfer to criminal court, the State can also seek a Determinate
Sentence for a juvenile aged 10 years or older for a juvenile felony sex
offense. If this were to happen, a juvenile could never seal his
juvenile record. He could be placed on probation for up to 10 years with
automatic transfer to adult probation at age 18. He could also be sent
to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department
(former known as Texas Youth Commission) for up to 40 years for a first
degree felony, up to 20 years for a second degree felony and up to 10
years for a third degree felony. If sent to TJJD and to be eligible for
parole, he first has to stay a minimum of 3 calendar years for a first
degree felony, 2 calendar years for a second degree felony and 1
calendar year for a third degree felony. If the juvenile does not parole
out by age 19, then he is automatically transferred to adult prison,
although depending on his behavior he could be transferred as early as
age 16.
INDETERMINATE SENTENCE
Instead
of the severe consequences of a transfer to adult court or determinate
sentence, the State can proceed with an Indeterminate Sentence. In such a
case, the juvenile could petition the court to seal his record at age
19 as long as he is not required to register as a sex offender. Also,
the juvenile could receive probation until age 18. As a condition of
probation, he could be placed outside his home for sex offender
counseling and treatment. He could also be sent to TJJD where he could
be held until age 19. In most of his negotiated cases, Jim Sullivan has
been able to reach an agreement with the State for his client to receive
Indeterminate Sentence probation at home for two years, the minimum
statutory required length of probation for a felony sex offense.
SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION
The
Judge can also order the juvenile to register as a sex offender until
age 28. The defense attorney may be able to persuade the State to agree
to defer registration, i.e. the Judge will make the decision regarding
sex offender registration after the juvenile completes his or her sex
offender counseling. Jim Sullivan has been successful in his cases to
either defer the registration decision or to not require the juvenile to
register at all.
DE-REGISTRATION – EXCUSING SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION
Jim Sullivan
has also been successful in persuading juvenile courts to allow
juveniles to be excused from further sex offender registration that
would otherwise be required by Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal
Procedure. A juvenile ordered to register as a sex offender only has two
chances to request de-registration as a sex offender. Therefore, it is
important to retain an attorney experienced in the process. Ideally, it
is better to request de-registration prior to the juvenile's 18th
birthday when he would otherwise have to begin registering as an adult
until age 28. However, the juvenile can still request de-registration
even after having reached age 18 or older. If you or your child were
ordered to register as a sex offender by a juvenile court and want to be
excused from further registration or if your child is charged with a
sex offense, then call Jim Sullivan at 281-546-6428. He can help you and he wants to hear from you.
